In recent years, small-sized, light-weighted camera lens assemblies appear due to development of the digital camera manufacturing technology. Thus, as cameras are included within mobile communication terminals, portable terminals within which optical lenses and camera devices are included are becoming generalized. At an initial stage when cameras started to be included within portable terminals, the performances of the cameras part of the portable terminals were significantly lower than the digital cameras commercialized those days. For example, in those days when the performances of the distributed digital cameras corresponded to 4 megapixels, the cameras within the mobile communication cameras generally corresponded to 0.3 megapixels, and the cameras within high-class terminals merely corresponded to 1 megapixels. Currently, as precision of camera lens assemblies have improved, portable terminals, to which cameras having a performance corresponding to 5 megapixels or more, are included are being commercialized.
The focal distance of such a camera lens module represents a distance between a lens and an image forming surface, and varies according to a distance between the lens and a subject. Accordingly, in order to obtain an optimum resolution, a distance between a lens module and an image sensor needs to be changed according to the distance of the photographed subject. In particular, when a high definition image having a high resolution is to be be obtained, apparatuses for correcting the focal distance are essentially mounted. Such focal distance correcting apparatuses are classified as manual focus correcting apparatuses (for manually correcting a focus by a photographing person) and as automatic focus correcting apparatuses (for automatically correcting a focus by an apparatus provided in a camera lens module).
The camera lens assemblies according to the related art are disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0849580 filed by the applicant (registered on Jul. 24, 2008 and titled ‘Camera Lens Assembly’) and Korean Patent No. 10-1058679 (registered on Aug. 16, 2011 and titled ‘Camera Lens Assembly’). Because the existing camera lens assembly is of a type in which upper and lower plate springs are fixed to a housing, structure the existing camera lens assembly is complex, and circuits for driving the camera lens assembly need to be provided on a lower surface and a side surface the existing camera lens assembly, making it difficult to assemble the camera lens assembly. Further, a camera lens is provided on the front or rear surface of the portable terminal, and impacts are often generated in a side surface direction rather than in a direction perpendicular to the lens. That is, when the portable terminal is dropped, an impact is applied to a side surface of the lens, often causing deformation or damage in the side surface direction of the lens. As a result of the deformation or damage, a defect is generated in an image and exchange costs are generated.
Thus, in particular, a camera lens assembly provided in an small-sized electronic device such as a portable terminal, which can realize small size and low price while maintaining a high definition image quality, is demanded. In addition, a camera lens assembly which can be simply assembled and structured, has a power source to easily supply power, and has a high reliability against an external impact is demanded.